Nuclear Science

Reactor Physics Methods and Applications

Pebble Bed Reactor Model

Nuclear reactor physics R&D focuses on reactor analysis applications and methods development in areas such as: reactor core physics, lattice physics, cross-section processing, nuclear fuel cycle assessments, radionuclide inventories, source terms, and decay heat. A key characteristic of our work is the combination of methods/software development and applications expertise. In the methods development area, activities focus on the development, enhancement, and maintenance of several key codes and capabilities in the SCALE code system, principally those associated with reactor physics, isotopic depletion and decay, and problem-dependent cross-section processing, as well as SCALE V&V and computational architecture development.

Applications focus areas include analysis of light water reactors (LWRs) in the DOE Nuclear Energy Modeling and Simulation Hub known as the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of LWRs (CASL); advanced reactor concepts such as small modular reactors, molten-salt reactors and fluoride-salt-cooled high temperature reactors; and high performance research reactors such as ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor.